Affirmation For 9/11

Like many others, I had to think about what I would do with my site today. My opinion swung from one extreme to another, from a simple black page (respect for those who were killed) to carrying on normally (lack of respect for the terrorists).

In the end I decided to post some appropriate poetry or lyrics. Initially I was only going to include an extract, but eventually I settled on using a full piece. I chose Ginsberg's Footnote to Howl - the ecstatic affirmation of the sanctity of life and the value of love that concludes his examination of decadence, corruption and madness in Howl.

(Incidentally, I can't claim any extensive knowledge of the rest of Ginsberg's work. I discovered this through Patti Smith's recorded version, which I thought you might like to hear.)

That was going to be all for the day, but now I find that I want to to say more. The poem on its own is too stark, I feel the need to add some mundane humanity as a postscript to the footnote. I don't want to say anything specific about 9/11, because it has all been said before (with an insight, empathy or intelligence that I would inevitably fail to match). Instead, I want to say something much more personal.

This weblog has a modest readership, made up of long-term real-life friends, internet friends who I've met in real-life, internet friends who I've never met but who I'm getting to 'know' fairly well, readers with whom I've occasionally exchanged an e-mail or a comment, online acquaintances with whom I'm on nodding terms and people who I have yet to have any contact with.

Whoever you are, whether you visit daily, weekly, monthly, once in a blue moon or for the first time, you are in my thoughts today. I value our relationship, whatever its nature. You are important to me, not in an arid, statistical "seven more readers than yesterday" way but in a real, physical, "there's a fellow human being reading this" sense.

That's pretty much all I want to say. It's unfocused and possibly a little soppy, but today of all days it needs to be said.

Tomorrow, we'll finally get back to those timeless albums - that's a promise.

Posted by Hg on Wednesday 11 September 2002 at 16:30.
Received 1 comments so far.

I know how you feel. I took until 11:50 the night before to decide what I was going to do, and even then at many points during the day I felt the urge to post something. But when it came to it I ended up rambling so I held off (I did try and capture some thoughts but they are the few that I can make sense of)

Comment by Gordon on Thursday 12 September 2002 at 07:40.

http://www.hydragenic.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/hydragen/mt/mt-tb.cgi/486

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